DR. RAZBRY'S WILD BLUEBERRY FAQ [IMAGE] WILD BLUEBERRIES History Blueberries are a native berry to North America and were an important staple of the Indians (Native Americans). Blueberries were dried and added to soups,meat,stews and whatever other foods needed an extra flavor. Early explorers noted wild blueberries on their expeditions. In 1615, Samuel de Champlain saw Indians along Lake Huron harvesting wild blueberries. These were dried, beaten into a pulp/powder and combined with cornmeal, honey and water to make a pudding called Sautauthig. Lewis & Clark while on an expedition found Indians smoked wild blueberries to preserve for winter use. A meal served to them by the Indians had wild blueberries pounded into the meat--which was then smoked and dried. The American Indian held the wild blueberry in very high esteem, due to the fact that the blossom end of each blueberry forms a five point star. It was believed the "Great Spirit" sent these star berries to relieve the hunger of children during a famine. Indians also used blueberries for medicinal purposes and made a strong aromatic tea from the root. It was used as a relaxant during childbirth. Early medical books relate this same tea for the wives of settlers during labor. Blueberry juice was used for "old coughs" and tea made from wild blueberry leaves was believed to be a good tonic to help purify the blood. During the Civil War Union soldiers were treated to wild blueberry pies thanks to enterprising folks from Maine. The first commercial venture involved canning wild blueberries for the military. Wild Blueberries Today Lowbush wild blueberries continue to flourish in the perfectly suited climate of Maine and Canada. Wild blueberries have a unique flavor and grow with minimal help from man. The wild blueberry "barrens" (fields) are periodically burned or mowed, which serves as a method of pruning and weed control, and at the same time fertilizes. Nature does the rest. Low Bush blueberries grow only about six to eighteen inches high yet will produce up to 4,000 lbs of blueberries per acre. In May-June the "barrens" are in full bloom with bell shaped white/pink flowers. Pollination is helped by the use of natural as well as commercial bee hives (see Blueberry Abuzzzz, below). After pollination the berry "sets" and is ready for picking from Mid-late August. Most wild blueberries are harvested by hand (see Tabbutt Rakes) but mechanical harvesting is now being introduced in some of the more level fields. Once harvesting takes place, the berries are washed,cleaned and quickly frozen to preserve their natural flavors (see Processing). The largest percentage of blueberries is used by the baking industry. Commercial bakers prefer wild blueberries because there are more berries per pound than with cultivated berries. Wild Blueberries do not explode during baking and hold their shape well. Frozen wild blueberries store well and will last over 2 years or longer without loosing any value. WILD VS HIGHBUSH CULTIVATED Wild blueberries have significantly more flavor than cultivated blueberries. There are aproximately three times as many wild blueberries per pound than cultivated. In baking or any processing this makes a big difference as you are getting more berries for your money. this is why some processors will say "blueberry" instead of "wild blueberry". Everyone would like to use the word "wild" but unless they are using wild blueberries in their products they can't say it. Wild blueberries are also used in coloring as the pigment in wild blueberries is much better than in the cultivated varieties. Because wild blueberries only grow in a very select area of the country there is a natural mystique to them. In marketing this is a tremendous advantage because people still like to eat something from the wild. BLUEBERRY Abuzzzzzz During pollination season in Maine the blueberry barrens are truly abuzz with bees. It is a rite of spring in Maine and Canada. Billions of bees are brought into the fields and warning signs go up and all you hear is the hum of these little workers. Bee polination is a very important part of the blueberry process. Even though there are millions of bees your chances of being stung are very small. They have a job to do and you are not part of that unless you actually disturb their hive. Because Maine alone (the largest wild blueberry producing state) produces upwards of 50 million pounds of blueberries each year, bees are an important part of production. Without bees to pollinate, the industry would be nothing, as the wild bees could not do the job. Research shows a reduction of over 50% without pollination. Every year many people are aware of the migration of farm workers to the blueberry fields in August to spend 4-5 weeks picking wild blueberries. Less known is the yearly influx of from 30,000-50,000 hives of bees, each hive containing between 30,000-l00,000 bees. Add this to the aprox.1,000 hives already in Maine and you have a lot of bees. When the weather is sunny, and warm, with calm winds the bees spend the day working the wild blueberry flowers. With all the human elements involved there is still trouble for bees from other quarters. Bears also love honey and will tear into hives just to steal the honey. In one short period of time they can do tremendous damage. Some bee keepers have resorted to putting up electric fences around the hives to protect the bees from these attacks. TABBUTT RAKES What the heck is a Tabbutt Rake? In an old shop in the hills of Sugar Hill a Mr. Abijah Tabbutt fashioned the first blueberry rakes from saltboxes over 112 years ago. Back in those days a blueberry rake sold for about .35 cents. Today these rakes sell for much much more and are used for more than raking wild blueberries. Summer visitors purchase rakes for the same reason they come to Maine to purchase old Lobster Traps. They go home and are used in many different areas for decoration. Every year over 5,000 pickers use these rakes to pick the wild blueberries. Today the introduction of mechinized picking machines still haven't put a dent in the use of rakes but as with everything else, only time will tell how much longer they will last. BLUEBERRY PROCESSING Today, Maine blueberry leaders have entered the world of lasers. Packing in the "old" days was all done by hundreds of human eyes. Today high-tech lasers sort the good berries from the bad. The main purpose of all the new equipment is to provide the consumer with a very high quality product. Even though the crops are still mostly picked by hand these new machines take over once the berries are brought in fron the fields. This high-tech equipment is very evident at one of Maines largest blueberry producers--Jasper Wyman & Son of Millbridge,Maine. Blueberries are transported from the field to the processing plant where they then are sent through an array of cleaning machines that remove sticks,rocks and other foreign matter that is mixed in with the tiny wild blueberries. Once washed and cleaned they are either packed for the fresh market or sent to the conveyor belt where they travel down a tunnel that dips to -35 below 0 and each berry is frozen by a blast of this frigid artic air. From here they continue on a belt to the million dollar laser device that can sort over 17,000 lbs of berries per hour. Defects are very difficult to detect with the human eye and these fantastic machines can tell if a berry is not perfect in a fraction of a second. After this process the berries go before human eyes for their final inspection and then on to their final packaging. HOW TO: BUY-----Fresh wld blueberries should be firm,plump and free from leaves and stems. Make sure the fruit is dry as wet fruit will mold quickly. Reddish berries are not ripe and may have a bitter taste due to the low sugar content of the un-ripe berry. Over ripe berries appear dull and watery. Berries stored for to long a period will look wrinkled due to dehydration. Fresh wild blueberries should be stored covered in the refrigerator and washed just before using. Up until the last year, fresh wild blueberries were very difficult to find as it was much easier for the growers to just freeze or can everything. Due to the demand for this delicious fruit a small amount of Wild Blueberries made it to the North East in the late summer of l994. If you want to, put pressure on your local grocer or chain store keep bugging the produce managers and tell them you want some fresh wild blueberries in 1995. Jasper Wyman & Son has been a leader in distributing fresh wild blueberries in the New England area. There are other blueberry companies in Maine, however Wymans is the only one who has had the initiative to market these berries in the "fresh" state. PREPARE---Fresh blueberries need only to be washed just before using.Commercially frozen berries are washed before being frozen, so washing again is not necessary. FREEZE----The secret to freezing fresh wild blueberries is to make sure the berries are completely dry before freezing. NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION Wild Blueberries are a perfect choice for everyone looking for a flavorful and low calorie food. Wild Blueberries contain vitamins A & C, iron, potassium and magnesium. They are also a good source of carbohydrates and fiber and are very low in sodium (so low that 1 cup of fresh wild blueberries shows 0 mg.) and there is No Cholestrol. For all you calorie counters: there are 42 calories in 1/2 cup of wild blueberries. SUMMARY Due to the unique way wild blueberries grow, the industry has always been very conscious of the enviroment. You cannot dig up and replant wild blueberries, so you'd better learn to work with what nature has given you. IPM (Integrated Pest Managment--using insects to control insects) has become a very important part of this industry and every year the wild blueberry industry is learning and working with new techniques which will preserve this rare crop and guarantee a future for our children so that we can all enjoy this berry for years to come. --Dr. Razbry _________________________________________________________________ [IMAGE] [IMAGE] dharper@wwfarm.com Whistling Wings Farms E-Mail Address _________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 1995 EyeMagic Text and Image For best viewing results, browse these pages with Netscape Navigator _________________________________________________________________